Questions for The quake that shook up geology

SCIENCE

Before reading:

1. Where do earthquakes most frequently occur in the United States? Why do you think that is?

2. Why do you think tsunamis are associated with earthquakes?

During reading:

1. How large was the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake?

2. Explain the two ways the Alaska quake produced tsunamis.

3. How did most of the people killed in the Alaska earthquake die?

4. Provide examples of how widely felt the 1964 quake was.

5. Describe tectonic plates and how they cause earthquakes.

6. Explain the type of plate boundary that underlies the southern coast of Alaska.

7. What does a seismograph do and why is it useful?

8. What is a subduction zone?

9. Define megathrust earthquake.

10.What is the Ring of Fire?

After reading:

1. Why do volcanoes and earthquakes often occur in the same regions of the world?

2. Using your hands or two books, demonstrate the type of plate motion that occurs along the boundaries between the Pacific and North American plates in a) Alaska; and b) California.

SOCIAL STUDIES

1. Learn more about what to do (and what not to do) in an earthquake. Create an informational poster you can display in your classroom.

2. Create a map that displays the locations of the 10 largest earthquakes ever recorded. Describe the likely plate motions that caused them, based on maps of plate movement in their region. (Here is a map you might use.)